Jerwin Gaco

Jerwin A. Gaco (born January 17, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and current coach. He was an undrafted player in the 2005 PBA draft. He serves as an assistant coach for University of Makati Hardy Herons.

After playing in semi-professional leagues and in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), he was acquired by the Barako Energy Coffee Masters during the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference before being signed by the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados for the 2010–11 season. Since then, he has won championships in the PBA, PBA D-League, Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), and Pilipinas Super League (PSL) .

Early life Gaco grew up the eldest of four children. Before he had turned 19, he had lost his father to cancer, and his mother to leukemia. With the family now orphaned, he became the breadwinner of that family, with his basketball earnings helping to send his sisters and brother to school.

College career After playing in Palarong Pambansa, Gaco got offers from different universities. He was given an invitation to try out for the UE Red Warriors, but since he did not know where the campus was, he was not able to go. Instead, he played for the PUP Maroons for three years.

After graduating college, Gaco still had two more playing years left. They had a record of 7–7, allowing them to make the Final Four. In their first Final Four game against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, he was punched by Eagles guard LA Tenorio. He then nudged Tenorio, and La Salle's bench stormed the court. Tenorio was given a one-game suspension, while Gaco was given a technical foul. La Salle went on to win that game in overtime, but lost the next game to Ateneo. The following season, in 2004, the Archers won the championship. he played for the Harbour Centre franchise in the Philippine Basketball League, where he honed his skills as an enforcer. He won multiple championships in his time there.

Professional career

Philippine Patriots Gaco played for the Philippine Patriots in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), winning a championship with them in 2010.

Magnolia franchise Gaco then signed a contract with the B-Meg Derby Aces Llamados. In his sophomore year, he played in the Rookie-Sophomore Blitz Game, scoring 19 points in that game. His first PBA championship came in the 2012 Commissioner's Cup. These fans called themselves the "Gaconatics", after sportscaster Mico Halili gave them that nickname. Team governor Rene Pardo called him "the team's glue guy". He then went on to win a grand slam in 2014 with that franchise.

Tanduay Rum Masters After attempts to return to the PBA, Gaco signed with the Tanduay Rum Masters for the 2017 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup, who had a two-game losing streak at the time. He became one of the team's leaders as they went on to claim a twice-to-beat advantage. In the quarterfinals, they beat the AMA Titans, with him scoring 16 points. In the semifinals, they lost to the Cignal-San Beda Hawkeyes in three games. Still, he credited his stint with them for helping him gain his confidence back. He was originally supposed to play for the Manila Stars, but they cut him before final rosters were submitted.

Pasig Pirates Gaco was then placed into the dispersal draft, where he was picked first by the Pasig Pirates.

Nueva Ecija MiGuard Gaco then played for the debuting Nueva Ecija MiGuard in the 2019 Lakandula Cup. In his first game for them, he had 17 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. He played seven games for them in the 2020 Lakan Cup before he and the team mutually agreed to part ways.

Davao Occidental Tigers As a free agent, Gaco signed with the Davao Occidental Tigers.

JPS Zamboanga City Valientes In the 1st conference of the VisMin Super Cup, Gaco joined the Zamboanga City JPS. He had a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the MisOr Brew AuthoriTea. He made that conference's Mythical Team, along with Hesed Gabo, Michael Mabulac, James Castro, and John Wilson.

Davao Occidental Tigers / Davao Pilipinas Gaco rejoined the team for the FilBasket Subic Championship. That team made it to the semifinals.

The Tigers then moved to the PSL. He only played one game for them in the first conference. Davao won the conference championship, giving him his 17th championship overall.

He was set to play for them once again as the rebranded Davao Pilipinas were originally picked to represent the Philippines in the ABL. However, those plans fell through and the Zamboanga Valientes became the new Philippine representatives for the ABL.

Coaching career Gaco became an assistant coach for the University of Makati Herons under coach Mike Pacasio.

Personal life A single parent, Gaco has two daughters. He also invests in condominium units, and promotes small-time local businesses on his social media accounts.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages